IVC filters help prevent blood clots from turning deadly in people who cannot tolerate anticoagulant medications.

For those who are already taking anticoagulants, IVC filters (inferior vena cava filters) don’t offer further protection, and can potentially cause harm, according to a new study.

IVC filter complications have been reported in a variety of circumstances, leading the FDA to recommend the devices be removed once the threat of pulmonary embolisms or deep vein thrombosis has passed.

In this newest study, researchers from Hopital Nord in Saint-Etienne, France, reported that recurrence of a pulmonary embolism was twice as common within 3 months with the IVC filters as with anticoagulant medicine alone.

These findings were published in the April 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers observed 399 patients hospitalized at 17 French centers for acute, symptomatic pulmonary embolism determined severe by at least one measure and associated with lower-limb vein thrombosis, which meant they were at a high risk of recurrence.

“These findings do not support the use of this type of filter in patients who can be treated with anticoagulation,” they concluded.

IVC Filter Complications

Introduced in 1979, IVC filters are small cage-like structures that capture blood clots in the vena cava before the clots can travel to the lungs, where they could result in a pulmonary embolism.

The problem is that IVC filters are fragile mechanisms. Some of these structures look like spiders, with moveable “legs” that can break away and travel to other parts of the body.

There have been reports of filter pieces tearing blood vessels and  veins as they make their way through the body. In some instances, broken pieces have even pierced the heart.

Surgeons have reported leaving broken pieces of IVC filters within a patient’s body when the objects have embedded in areas too risky for retrieval.

In other instances, the entire IVC filter has migrated to other parts of the body.

Why Use IVC Filters?

When people endure serious injuries or undergo surgeries, their risk of blood clots increases. In order to prevent blood clots, a surgeon might implant an IVC filter in the vena cava, the vein that takes blood back to the heart.

An IVC filter might be preferred over anticoagulant medications (commonly called blood thinners) when there is a risk the patient could develop uncontrollable bleeding. Any invasive surgery or severe injury could result in a bleeding risk.

Among the situations that a doctor could suggest an IVC filter are those involving:

• Gun shot or stabbing wounds
• Spinal cord injury
• Cancer
• Car accidents
• Emergency surgery
• Dialysis treatment

FDA Warns of IVC Filter Complications

In its summary of problems with the IVC filters, the FDA acknowledges that long-term risks associated with IVC filters include lower limb deep vein thrombosis and IVC occlusion.

In some instances, clots are so large, they push the IVC filter into other parts of the body rather than stopping and breaking up the clot. Sometimes the IVC filters will get occluded with blood, stopping adequate blood flow from reaching the heart.

While some IVC filters have been designed to be permanent, the FDA recommends retrieval of all of them if the risk for pulmonary embolisms has passed as long as the patient’s health status is favorable for removal.

If you or a loved one suffered IVC filter side effects such as migration, IVC perforation, DVT, or pulmonary embolisms, you may have a legal claim. An IVC filter lawsuit may help you obtain compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and more.